Local citizens are banding together to tackle litter in the Rogue River. The Rogue River Project, founded by Andrew Kersting, and Trout Unlimited, through the Rogue River Home Rivers Initiative project, are working together to conduct a stream cleanup along the Rogue River on April 23, 2011.
Garbage along stream banks is not only unsightly, but it also can be harmful to wildlife. Many plants and animals depend on access to the water for survival. Waste can prevent animals from reaching what they need. Sometimes animals can confuse garbage for food or a suitable home.
Waste enters a stream in a number of ways. Storm drains collect storm water from our neighborhoods, parking lots and other public areas, and this water is not treated before it reaches our local waterways. This means that garbage that ends up in a storm drain is washed directly to our streams and rivers. Litter from recreational use and sometimes intentional dumping also pollutes our water resources.
You can help by volunteering a few hours of your time to collect garbage along three miles of the Rogue River below the Rockford dam on April 23 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Please meet at Richardson Sowerby Park in Rockford. Morning refreshments and a pizza lunch will be available for volunteers. You will also be entered into a drawing to win free tickets to Celebration Cinema or the Coopersville and Marne Railway Company. Please wear closed-toe shoes and bring gloves if you have them.
For more information visit therogueriverproject.org/default.aspx.
If you are interested in attending, please contact Nichol De Mol at (231) 557-6362 or e-mail ndemol@tu.org.
Special thanks to the following businesses for supporting this event: AAA Canoe Rental, BC Pizza, Celebration Cinema, Coopersville and Marne Railway, D&W, and The Corner Bar.
Trout Unlimited is the nation’s largest coldwater conservation organization, with 140,000 members dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring North America’s trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds.
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